Sunday, January 22, 2006

Nanolegislation, nanoethics....

The manipulation of atoms and molecules -under way- for about 20 years, in order to convert them in nanomachines or other devices, continuous being developed to great velocity. 3 countries (of a total of 30), will carried out strong investments in this field in the following years, Japan (900 million dollars), USA (700 million), European Union (500 million). Although we do not have figures, it is notorious the growing interest of China, India and other countries, by remain not displaced countries of this competence. However, as in all things of life, the perspectives of development in the field http://www.guardian.co.uk/nanotechnology/0,,1021824,00.html of nanotechnology (construccion of tools or nanomachines custom-made of a billion part of 1 meter), go associates to an outlook of enormous chiaroscuros.

We see the good thing, in health, the chinese have created last year a nanocarrier of drugs that after arriving with notable precision, to the organ or any desired destiny are dissolved. The Japanese have developed photographic nanocameras, to explore and to film in detail all the digestive tract. Other companies plan to develop bandages that detect incipient infections, nanochips capable to repair injured tissues and devices that enable http://engineeringworks.tamu.edu/?p=114 the direct access of images to the human retine. Food, its supporters think that the genetically modified food, can soon eradicate the hunger of the face of the earth. Technology, already have been created nanoengines propelled by níckel, transistors of the size of one molecule, diodes that emit light, without generating heat -what will save enormous quantities of energy, lenses (of oxide of titanio), that repel the solar and UV rays. In the short-term perspective, it is planned the creation of beverages that adopt the flavor that the client desire, pants that dissolve the spots, windows that are cleaned alone, containers that detect the deterioration of fresh foods, clothes of camouflage that change of color in agreement to the changing environment, construction of nanocomputers of 16 000 bits of memory capable to be harbored in one cell, permit more velocity to the circuits of computers, clean by means of nanoparticles the environment of dangerous environmental pollutions. Finally it is planned to replace the fossil energy by a growing employment of the sunlight and the Hidrogen.

We examine now, the negative side. To begin, we will indicate that the above-mentioned lenses of oxide of titanio are not capable of impede -to nanometrics levels- that some rays penetrate in the skin damage the human DNA. Likewise, there are some who fears the emergency of nanorobots (of the size of a virus), capable of self-replication consuming everything that they find to their step, destroying the humanity. Neither to speak of the military nanoterrorism, the invasion of the personal privacy by means of nanomicrophones or nanofilmmachines. In the same way if the nanotechnology is capable at the last instance to control the manipulation of the matter, then why not to become the land in water or air, with alone to change the atomic configuration?. May be it is time to look at this field with more atention, try to create a nanoethic and begin to legislate it.